Posrop ADR w/ new disc extrusion

Tagged: Pain after ADR

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

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tracstep
Participant

January 11, 2017 at 11:41 am

Post count: 3

#24101

Hello, hoping you might be able to shed some light on my situation. I had a cervical disc replacement at C5/6 one year ago. Preop symptoms were left scapular pain, left tricep pain, numbness in left pinky. MRI showed central disc protrusion at C5/6. Per my surgeon, my pain didn’t follow the typical dermatome for that level but nerves don’t always follow the textbook. I had 90% improvement after surgery. Within a month or so, my left index finger went numb and I began having bicep pain and left scapula pain. Surgeon recommended wait and see, within 3 months I began having right pinky numbness and right tricep pain along with left tricep pain again. Underwent MRI with contrast. Due to artifact at c5/6 level, not much could be seen there. At C6/7 though it showed central disc protrusion that effaced the thecal sac and abuts the ventral cord, mild canal stenosis without cord compression. I recently had a ct Myelogram that shows C6/7 moderate to severe central disk extrusion migrating caudally up to mid C7 vertebral body causing severe compression of thecal sac with trace amount of contrast seen on anterior median ridge of spinal cord. No definite neural foraminal narrowing identified. Streak artifact limiting at C5/6 but mild disc protrusion with central disc osteophyte causing mild thecal sac, no neural foraminal narrowing. My question is do these test results match my symptoms? The neurosurgeon who ordered the ct Myelogram said surgery wouldn’t resolve my symptoms. I’ve tried all conservative treatments including PT, TFESI, SNRB and multiple medications.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

January 14, 2017 at 8:18 pm

Post count: 8660

#24117

Pinky numbness normally is the C8 dermatome (C7-T1 level) but in unusual cases, I have seen C7 radiculopathy causing this symptom. Triceps region pain could be from C7 or C8 normally. What is your physical examination like (deep tendon reflexes, motor strength and pinwheel sensory testing)? I will assume that C7-T1 has no findings of compression. You do apparently have cervical central stenosis. Do you have signs and symptoms of cervical myelopathy?

You could try a selective nerve root block of C7. With good relief temporarily (see pain diary), this could confirm a radiculopathy. I will assume there is no foraminal compression at the ADR level.

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.

tracstep
Participant

January 15, 2017 at 6:13 pm

Post count: 3

#24128

Thank you so much for replying! I have decreased tricep reflex bilaterally. I do feel like both hands are a bit clumsy (messy handwriting and sorting paper, picking up small objects)and balance seems a bit off. I did have a right Achilles repair eight months ago so not sure if my proprioception is fully recovered from that or if it’s my spine. So, I don’t know if those would be considered symptoms of myelopathy or not. No Dr has done a pinwheel test. My CT Myelogram did show at C7/T1 a mild disc bulge compressing the thecal sac. The contrast was completely blocked at C6/7 so unsure if C5/6 has any foraminal narrowing due to streak artifact from the ADR.

I had an EMG/NCV that was normal other than the ulnar nerve response was very fast, presumably because it doesn’t follow the natural groove.

I had a SRNB at C6/7 that completely relieved my scapula pain and bicep pain. Took longer to affect the tricep with much less time of relief.

Neurosurgeon I saw recently said no surgery would help my symptoms. I’m at a loss as to what to do next?

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

January 16, 2017 at 9:26 am

Post count: 8660

#24131

If C6-7 is “completely blocked” on myelogram, this sounds like severe central canal stenosis. If you also have new symptoms of incoordination, this could represent myelopathy. Your right Achilles repair could give you some imbalance but I assume you have recovered and you don’t have a limp.

The EMG is not helpful for cord compression syndromes and for radiculopathy that is painful but no motor weakness is apparent.

I think you need another opinion as it seems you have real pathology and some symptoms to match.

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.

tracstep
Participant

March 2, 2017 at 5:10 pm

Post count: 3

#24448

One more question, can you have cervical radicular pain with no definite foraminal narrowing? The CT Myelogram states no definite neural foramnial narrowing is seen.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

March 3, 2017 at 5:03 am

Post count: 8660

#24453

Nerves can be intrinsically damaged by prior compression, stretch, metabolic disorders, infectious disorders and genetic disorders. This could be called a chronic neuropathy.

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.
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Donald Corenman, MD, DC

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81 reviews

Eric S

Sep 26, 2021

by Eric S on Donald Corenman, MD, DC

Successful pars repair at 46 years old

Back in November of 2018 (at 46 years old) I came from Vancouver BC to have a pars repair done with Dr. Donald Corenman at the Steadman Clinic in Vail Colorado. I'm finally posting this review nearly three years later in late 2021. The reason I waited so long was I wanted to know the final result before I posted my review. Unfortunately in that time Dr. Corenman has retired. Nevertheless, I want to post this review of Dr. Corenman and his staff at the Steadman Clinic in their excellent treatment of my L5 pars interarticularis.

I fractured my pars at age 42 back in 2014 when rolling on the gym floor, and was denied treatment by the Canadian healthcare system, probably due to my age. First my GP told me there was no surgical option for a pars defect, which was quite incorrect! I tried to live with it, but the symptoms worsened (periodic random spine slippage and weeks of resultant pain after just bending over to tie my shoe, so I eventually learned to mostly squat and hardly bend). When I finally consulted with Canadian spine surgeons, I was told they believed my pars defect had been congenital (since birth). This was absurd, considering I had done extreme martial arts (including jiu jitsu) for years prior, as well as 5 years of reinforcing steel full time in my 20s, probably the hardest job on the back you can find. No pars defect like mine would possibly have allowed this--ergo it was impossible that I had had the defect since birth. I did however have an asymptomatic congenital spina bifida occulta that made me more susceptible to a pars fracture. In 2014 in one instant, I went from having the strongest back people I knew said they'd ever seen, to being unable to safely bend over and tie my shoe without a non-negligible risk of my spine slipping randomly (which would lead to weeks of pain after each occurrence). This was due to the unilateral L5 pars defect, otherwise known as spondylolysis. It was when lying in pain on the floor 4 years later after maybe the 6th spine slippage event post injury, that I had had enough, and resolved to have surgery. If Canada's "universal health care" said no, I would make lemonade from lemons, and find the very best surgeon in the world at pars repairs. That was Dr. Donald Corenman. Dr. Corenman back in 2018 ran a website https://neckandback.com/ that dedicated many pages to the science of every aspect of pars repairs, from eligibility (good discs on MRI), to best surgical techniques (minimal open compared to minimally invasive), best imaging to use (i.e., O-Arm with Stealth imaging vs. older fluoroscopy), the ideal amount of BMP to use and why not use too much or too little, and much more, all to do with pars repairs, pages upon pages of his site just on the pars, with scientific references and his own extensive expert opinion. As a health research statistician, I was very impressed with this. It was in stark contrast to the websites of other spine surgeons which barely gave the pars a word or two, focusing almost exclusively on fusions. I had found the best surgeon in the world for pars repairs, and so after Dr. Corenman personally screened my MRI to ensure my discs were healthy, I booked the surgery.

Being 46 years old at the time of surgery in 2018, with a 4-year-old pars fracture from 2014 combined with a congenital SBO meant my pars fragment was somewhat atrophied, but it was "very solid", said Dr. Corenman in the operative report. Nevertheless, it was challenging with two things to fix, the pars and SBO, and OR time was around 4 hours. Recovery over the following months was guided by a very clear "Spine binder" from the Steadman Clinic with strict rules of "no BLT" (no bending, lifting or twisting), and illustrated physiotherapy guidelines. They even warned patients to avoid fish oil supplements, which could excessively dampen inflammation and hence slow bone healing. They answered many questions I had during months of recovery, with responses coming from the very supportive Lori Fugate (then director of Dr. Corenman's practice), and Ehrich Bean (then physician's assistant at the practice), as well as a couple calls with Dr. Corenman himself after two of the CT scans. Ehrich Bean offered great advice for taking the spine binder conservatively due to the nature of pars repairs vs. fusions. The final post-op CT scan I had was a couple weeks ago at 34 months post-op, and Dr. Corenman had retired, but I got a very positive and informative call from Eric Strauch (current PA at the Steadman Clinic under Dr. Corenman's replacement there, and who had also worked with Dr. Corenman previously). The staff at the Steadman Clinic were extremely supportive all the way through the process. I should mention, the local Canadian spine surgeon did offer me very good post-operative support including antibiotics as needed to deal with a mild surface incision-site infection early on, booking numerous x-rays when I felt something was amiss, as well as booking all four of my post-op CT scans. I am very grateful for that support also.

My final result shows plenty of solid bone across the pars and a healed SBO, with my vertebral body now a solid bone ring instead of being broken at two places as it was pre-op. Does my spine hold up in the real world? You bet! I have recently dug and moved several yards of dirt and sand and gravel by myself (shovel and wheelbarrow!) to fix our water main, pulled roots from the yard, moved several "portable" (these are HUGE) air conditioners up several flights of stairs my myself, and lifted weights. I now run 2 miles (3.2 KM) several times weekly with a hard 100 meter dash in the middle. I bend deeply before each run I go on, with no spine slippage. My spine feels amazing. I can bend over to do exercise, or real word tasks, with no risk of spine slippage.

My sincere thanks to God, Dr. Donald Corenman, Lori Fugate, Ehrich Bean, Eric Strauch, and the Steadman Clinic, as well as the Canadian spine surgeon who offered me excellent post-operative care back in Canada. You have all given me a new lease on life.

Sincerely,
Eric S

Robert S

May 11, 2021

by Robert S on Donald Corenman, MD, DC

Back Fusion Surgery

I had my entire lumbar spine fused in November of 2018. I had scoliosis , with pinched nerves that were so painful I could hardly walk - and standing for more than a few minutes was impossible. Even sitting was painful.
The fusion surgery produced immediate relief! And the recovery was much easier than I expected.
To this day I can do all the activities I love from hiking, to standing in a stream fly fishing to riding my bike long distances - or just walking down the street with my wife.
Kudos to Dr. Corenman and his staff, (including the two Erics) for taking such good care of me!

Leslie R

Jul 9, 2020

by Leslie R on Donald Corenman, MD, DC

TLIF

I had my TLIF surgery on 6/24/2020 by Dr. Corenman, I can not say enough good things about the Dr or his staff. I was always treated with respect and explained everything throughly, that made it easy for everyone to understand. I highly recommend Dr. Corenman and the Steadman Clinic.

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